Readers know the specialization of medicine, which has undoubtedly brought enormous progress. However, one of its drawbacks is the trend of each specialized field to become a silo. For example, a narrow research objective is necessary to produce unambiguous results when new treatments are examined.
But we are not built as a car engine, with clearly delimited systems. Our bodily functions are highly interactive, which can sometimes blur the water with new treatment effects.
So my attention was drawn to some Recently published multisystem search In the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. The results have shown that making certain lifestyle adjustments could help us reduce the risk of developing a stroke,, dementia or late depression at the same time. Researchers have identified 17 risk factors that overlap for these brain conditions.
Dr. Aleksandra Pikula, vascular neurologist of the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto and one of the authors of the study published earlier this month, told CBC News that even if we have known individual risk factors for these three conditions for some time, overlapping had not been examined before.
We know that at least 60% stroke, 40% of dementia and 35% of late depression is attributable to modifiable risk factors, with a large overlap due to shared pathophysiology. The study aimed to systematically identify the risk factors that overlap for these diseases and to calculate their relative impact on the overall result.
Researchers examined data from 59 studies published between 2000 and 2023 to create the list of risk factors. They identified four factors that reduce the risk of these brain conditions:
- Regular cognitive activities (such as reading or puzzles);
- Moderate or high levels of physical activity;
- A feeling that your life has a goal;
- Contribution of low to moderate alcohol (consuming less than one drink a day has shown a greater advantage than consuming one to three).
On the other side of the equation, they found 11 factors associated with an increased risk of the three conditions:
- High blood pressure;
- Kidney disease;
- Smoking;
- High blood sugar;
- A poor or disturbed sleep;
- A high body mass index;
- Hearing loss;
- Depressive symptoms;
- Stressful life events;
- Pain;
- High cholesterol.
And two factors have been identified which could have protective or harmful impacts:
- Diet: a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, fish and dairy products has decreased your risk of developing a brain -related disease, but a diet rich in red meat, sugary drinks, candies and an excess salt increased the risk;
- Social commitment: a large social network has proven good for the brain, while loneliness or isolation was bad for that.
The study revealed that the most dangerous risk factor for developing one of the three conditions was high blood pressure (hypertension). While research has examined the association rather than “the cause and the effect”, one of the underlying threads for the three conditions can be damaged the blood vessels which compromise the blood flow to the brain. And another recent article, published in Nature Medicine, supported this theory. The study examined 34,000 patients in China and found that those who considerably reduce their blood pressure with drugs were 15% less likely to develop dementia than those who did not do so.
It is never too late to make lifestyle changes to improve your health, said Dr. Pikula, but the best results are shown when people are starting to minimize their risk factors in their forties, in his forties and fifties. Even attacking one of these risk factors, which range from high blood pressure to loneliness, can help some of the others say the researchers. For example, cycling to increase your physical activity could help high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which are also risk factors. Or do more exercise with a friend will also help fight excess weight and social isolation.
Overall, a great research with practical advantages.